Driver sentenced over Japan's first traffic death linked to 'Pokemon Go'

TOKUSHIMA -- A driver facing charges over Japan's first fatal traffic accident involving the mobile game "Pokemon Go" was sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment by the Tokushima District Court on Oct. 31.

Keiji Goo, a 39-year-old farmer from Tokushima, was convicted of negligence resulting in death and injury over the Aug. 23, 2016 accident, which killed a 72-year-old woman and left another woman injured. Prosecutors had sought a 20-month sentence.

In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Tomoya Arai criticized Goo's actions, stating, "He was driving while looking at the game screen on an off, and his negligence is extremely heavy."

Goo was convicted of hitting 72-year-old hairdresser Sachiko Nakanishi and 60-year-old part-time worker Kayoko Ikawa while driving a light van in Tokushima at about 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 23. Nakanishi died in the accident, while Ikawa was left with injuries requiring about a month's treatment. The pair, who lived in the same neighborhood, were hurrying across a road at the time of the accident.